Allied, Brickman Buy NYC’s Historic Brill Building for $186M

Allied Partners and Brickman have something to sing about. The real estate investment company and the private equity firm have completed the acquisition of The Brill Building, the landmark Manhattan tower that has long been synonymous with the music scene, for $186 million.

Allied Partners and Brickman have something to sing about. The real estate investment company and the private equity firm have completed the acquisition of The Brill Building, the landmark Manhattan tower that has long been synonymous with the music scene, for $185.5 million. Allied and Brickman purchased the 175,000-square-foot office and retail property from Invesco Real Estate and Stonehenge Partners Inc. in a deal that, when anticipated building renovation and leasing costs are incorporated, has a total value of $250 million.

The change of ownership, brokered on the sellers’ behalf by Eastdil Secured, comes approximately six years after the asset last changed hands in a $151 million transaction. Allied and Brickman relied on Starwood Property Trust for a $158.5 million first mortgage loan to acquire the Brill Building, and the team secured $40 million in financing from Square Mile Capital Management L.L.C.

An 11-story structure that has stood at 1619 Broadway since 1931, the Brill Building was designed by Victor Bark Jr. in the Art Deco style that Allied plans to respect in the process of transforming the property into a state-of-the-art destination envisioned as a creative environment for tenants in the fashion, arts, media and entertainment industries. The Songwriters Hall of Fame will call the building home, and according to Allied, additional office and retail leases are presently in the works.

But it’s not just the Brill Building’s history as a longtime music business hub that Allied believes will help reel in occupants.

As Eric Hadar, chairman of Allied, told Commercial Property Executive, it’s also the property’s “location in Times Square, excellent foot traffic for retail tenants and the new and dynamic space we are going to create.”

Real estate services firm Newmark Grubb Knight Frank has been tapped to spearhead leasing of the retail space at Brill Building and Brickman will oversee leasing for the office segment.